What the heck is an Emunctory?!

Sounds like something from schoolhouse rock, and it might as well be! Unfortunately I can’t get into song and animation over a blog. Simply, an Emunctory is an organ or part of the body that carries off body waste.  Emunctory organs are incredibly important to the health of a body. Our bodies are making waste products all day long, and our Livers package these things up (as well as excess hormones, exogenous chemicals, and environmental toxins) for excretion so that they’re not active in the body.  These waste products and toxins interfere with the clean function of the body, so getting rid of them helps all your cells perform better.  A buildup of these things in the body can lead a a variety of slow-onset chronic health issues like fatigue, skin issues, brain fog and neuralgia, and hormonal imbalances.  If the organs are working well, the waste does not accumulate, leading to better overall health.

The Emunctory Organs

These are the instruments your Emunctory’s play at weddings…  I’m just kidding.  The Emunctory organs, responsible for the release of waste, include your Kidneys (responsible for creating urine), your bowel (responsible for creating stool), and your skin (responsible for sweating and shedding).

Urine, stool, sweat, and shedding skin are all ways for your body to get rid of this morbid matter,

so as you can guess it’s pretty important to be urinating, pooping, sweating, and shedding regularly.  This part of why things like drinking water, having regular bowel movements and eating plenty of fiber, and exercise/heat are so good for us.  There are plenty of other reasons why fiber, exercise, and water are good for us, but knowing they help keep your biochemical system clean and operating in a manner that is efficient and adaptable is powerful knowledge. Pretty neat stuff.

Schoolhouse Simple!

It is pretty simple!  You can be healthier just by making sure these systems are working well.  You generally know how often you use the washroom, or sweat, so you can tell how well you’re functioning. Bowel movements should be regular, easy, and once per day; we should be sweating a little bit from exertion daily; and urination should come with adequate water intake – a few times a day at least.  Sometimes things can get a little bit more complicated when dealing with liver/gallbladder issues (Bile transports a lot of this waste through the stool), and menopause (uterine shedding is an emunctory function, and when it stops you lose a lot of that benefit).  Whatever the case, do yourself a favour, and make sure your Emunctory’s are firing on all cylinders if you can… and if you’re having trouble and want help with this, book an appointment and we’ll chat!